DeLand man's lawsuit claims he's been sipping watered down beer

Published: Tuesday, March 19, 2013 at 6:06 p.m.

Last Modified: Tuesday, March 19, 2013 at 8:52 p.m.

Here's a buzz kill: A Volusia County man has accused the King of Beers of being a pretender, alleging in a class-action lawsuit that Anheuser-Busch is watering down its brews.

Lucius Tison King of DeLand filed the class-action lawsuit this month against Anheuser-Busch seeking more than $15,000 plus attorney's fees — and a refund of King's spent beer money.

King's is not the first such lawsuit. The beer company is actually fighting several lawsuits across the nation accusing it of selling beer that is less than the 5 percent alcohol by volume advertised on the labels. Anheuser-Busch has denied the accusations and called the lawsuits "completely false."

King's lawsuit, though, is believed to be the first in Florida, according to his attorney Joshua Gale. When asked how King could tell the beer was watered down, Gale said there had been other lawsuits across the country on the same issue.

Gale could not say whether King had noticed any taste difference when he took a drink from his Bud.

Was King feeling it took more cans of beer to achieve the same degree of contentment?

"I can't answer that either," Gale said.

But he could answer what King's preferred Anheuser-Busch brews were.

"He primarily drinks Budweiser and Michelob Ultra," Gale said.

Gale, who by the way prefers Bud Light, said the lawsuit is not about scoring easy money.

"This is about consumer protection, about keeping the companies honest on their product label," Gale said. "That's really what the lawsuit is about."

Anheuser-Busch denied the allegations in the lawsuit by King and others, according to an emailed statement on Tuesday from Peter Kraemer, vice president of brewing and supply at Anheuser-Busch.

"The claims against Anheuser-Busch are completely false, and these lawsuits are groundless," according to Kraemer's statement. "Our beers are in full compliance with all alcohol labeling laws. We proudly adhere to the highest standards in brewing our beers, which have made them the best-selling in the U.S. and the world."

Anheuser-Busch is facing similar lawsuits in California, Colorado, Ohio, Missouri, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Texas, according to news accounts.

In response the brewer ridiculed the suits by taking out full-page newspaper ads depicting one of the millions of cans of water it has sent to relief organizations during disasters, according to news accounts. The ads read: "They must have tested one of these."

King, a 38-year-old real estate agent, could not be reached and Gale said he preferred that his client not discuss his beer issues with the media, at least for now.

King regularly bought about one case of Budweiser per month "during the past years," according to his lawsuit. Each Budweiser claimed on its label that it had an alcohol content of 5 percent by volume. But King said that was overstated.

According to the lawsuit, Anheuser-Busch controls with "great accuracy and precision" the alcohol in each beer its sells. But it intentionally misrepresented the content, claiming more alcohol than it actually contained.

Because water is less expensive than alcohol, Anheuser-Busch adds extra water to its beer thereby brewing malt beverages with consistently "significantly lower alcohol content," the lawsuit states.

King said he would not have bought the beer had he known the claims were false.

King said he paid a "premium price" for the products based on "unfair, deceptive, and unconscionable acts or marketing that Defendant conducted by mislabeling the alcohol content."

<p>Here's a buzz kill: A Volusia County man has accused the King of Beers of being a pretender, alleging in a class-action lawsuit that Anheuser-Busch is watering down its brews. </p><p>Lucius Tison King of DeLand filed the class-action lawsuit this month against Anheuser-Busch seeking more than $15,000 plus attorney's fees &mdash; and a refund of King's spent beer money. </p><p>King's is not the first such lawsuit. The beer company is actually fighting several lawsuits across the nation accusing it of selling beer that is less than the 5 percent alcohol by volume advertised on the labels. Anheuser-Busch has denied the accusations and called the lawsuits "completely false." </p><p>King's lawsuit, though, is believed to be the first in Florida, according to his attorney Joshua Gale. When asked how King could tell the beer was watered down, Gale said there had been other lawsuits across the country on the same issue. </p><p>Gale could not say whether King had noticed any taste difference when he took a drink from his Bud. </p><p>Was King feeling it took more cans of beer to achieve the same degree of contentment? </p><p>"I can't answer that either," Gale said. </p><p>But he could answer what King's preferred Anheuser-Busch brews were. </p><p>"He primarily drinks Budweiser and Michelob Ultra," Gale said. </p><p>Gale, who by the way prefers Bud Light, said the lawsuit is not about scoring easy money. </p><p>"This is about consumer protection, about keeping the companies honest on their product label," Gale said. "That's really what the lawsuit is about." </p><p>Anheuser-Busch denied the allegations in the lawsuit by King and others, according to an emailed statement on Tuesday from Peter Kraemer, vice president of brewing and supply at Anheuser-Busch. </p><p>"The claims against Anheuser-Busch are completely false, and these lawsuits are groundless," according to Kraemer's statement. "Our beers are in full compliance with all alcohol labeling laws. We proudly adhere to the highest standards in brewing our beers, which have made them the best-selling in the U.S. and the world." </p><p>The lawsuit names specifically Budweiser, Bud Ice, Bud Light Platinum, Michelob, Michelob Ultra, Hurricane High Gravity Lager, King Cobra, Busch Ice, Natural Ice, Black Crown and Bud Light Lime. Anheuser-Busch is a subsidiary of Anheuser-Busch InBev based in Belgium. </p><p>Anheuser-Busch is facing similar lawsuits in California, Colorado, Ohio, Missouri, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Texas, according to news accounts. </p><p>In response the brewer ridiculed the suits by taking out full-page newspaper ads depicting one of the millions of cans of water it has sent to relief organizations during disasters, according to news accounts. The ads read: "They must have tested one of these." </p><p>King, a 38-year-old real estate agent, could not be reached and Gale said he preferred that his client not discuss his beer issues with the media, at least for now. </p><p>King regularly bought about one case of Budweiser per month "during the past years," according to his lawsuit. Each Budweiser claimed on its label that it had an alcohol content of 5 percent by volume. But King said that was overstated. </p><p>According to the lawsuit, Anheuser-Busch controls with "great accuracy and precision" the alcohol in each beer its sells. But it intentionally misrepresented the content, claiming more alcohol than it actually contained. </p><p>Because water is less expensive than alcohol, Anheuser-Busch adds extra water to its beer thereby brewing malt beverages with consistently "significantly lower alcohol content," the lawsuit states. </p><p>King said he would not have bought the beer had he known the claims were false. </p><p>King said he paid a "premium price" for the products based on "unfair, deceptive, and unconscionable acts or marketing that Defendant conducted by mislabeling the alcohol content."</p>